Lori’s Lollipops – July 2016

Nobody wants to read a boring newsletter!” …That’s usually my first thought as I sit down to write an update.” So many things happen, life is so busy , yet how do I write about what I consider to just be “normal life””? Well, here goes… in a newsletter I’m calling “THE YEAR OF SEVENTEEN”…

Seventeen Years Old:

As I realized that the number 17 began to appear in various places throughout this newsletter, I also realized that though it rarely gets brought up in conversation these days, I was 17 yrs old when I felt called to long-term missions. My introduction to missions happened years previous to that and I was already intrigued by the thought of it, but in February of 1997 is when I felt God’s clear calling on my life and I knew that I would become a missionary.

Seventeen Tests (Health Update):

If you recall, in my December newsletter I asked for prayer because (seven years after my extensive blood clotting) I was going off of my blood thinning med’s in order to get my blood tested again. The news that came back from Mayo Clinic in January was excellent ~ the results for 17 different tests were completely clean… no blood clotting disorders! I was excited and celebrating! However, just a few weeks later, my leg began to get super achy, swollen, and was quite painful… and my celebration came to a sudden halt. Sparing you all the details, after another ultra sound exam on my leg my doctor and my vascular surgeon together concluded that I have a blood clotting disorder that simply doesn’t show up in testing. So back on another blood-thinning medication I went! I felt discouraged and defeated… but after about 3 days of grieving over this less-than-desirable news, I felt convicted to be thankful. So I’ve been choosing to celebrate that, with some extra care and a few adjustments, I can go about my life as normal, continuing to travel and do many of the things I love. I am blessed!

Seventeen Schools:

In January I staffed my 17th DTS, coaching Brandon & Aksana as they led their first school. I got to teach for a week in the DTS, helping students and staff understand who God has designed them to be and how to work with each other in teams. We sent teams out to Ukraine, Taiwan and India for 2 months, all of them returning with stories of what God is doing in each nation and how they got to be part of it!

Asia (x 17):

In April I did a pastoral visit to our outreach teams in Taiwan and India. I spent a week with each team, meeting with staff and students—listening, praying, and advising where needed. We do these pastoral visits from time to time just to help keep our teams healthy. This happens to be right up my alley, and it was a great way to be involved with the outreaches! (Coincidentally, if I add up the number of countries in Asia that I’ve been to, including multiple trips to some of the same ones, it adds up to… you guessed it! Seventeen!)

Seventeenth Year:

When I was finished in India, I headed to New Zealand to visit my sister Pam and her family. It had been two years since last seeing them, and it was a great way to finish my whole trip to Asia!

And finally, just to top off all my “seventeens”, I’m headed into my 17th year of full-time YWAM staff. God has been faithful!